Eric Church Releasing New Album Early Next Year

11/05/2013.

(Radio.com) Two weeks ago Eric Church unveiled "The Outsiders," a brand-new song that's the first single from his upcoming fourth studio album. Today the Nashville Tennessean reports that the song is also the title of Church's next album, and that the collection is set for release early next year, on Feb. 11, 2014.

"We've had the ability after every record to feel more emboldened by what we did on the last record," Church said during a recent interview in Nashville. "And I think with this one, with the success of Chief, we were a little bulletproof."

Church's 2011 album Chief has sold 1.5 million copies so far and produced five hit singles, two of which hit No. 1 ("Drink in My Hand" and "Springsteen"). This past spring it also won Album of the Year honors during the Academy of Country Music Awards.

"My career, so many times I think my career is going to be pre-Chief and post Chief," Church said at the time. "That record changed everything for us."

According to the Tennessean, Church's new album The Outsiders is again produced by his longtime collaborator Jay Joyce. The album will contain approximately a dozen songs, among them a a recitation of the Shel Silverstein poem "The Devil and Billy Markham" (author and songwriter Silverstein is best known for his book The Giving Tree as well as songs such as "A Boy Named Sue" for Johnny Cash), a song called "Roller Coaster Ride," a handful of love songs and album closer "The Joint," which is described as showing influence of artists such as Tom Waits and J.J. Cale. more on this story

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